For the Lulz!

I’ve been a Twitter follower (aka ‘cyber-groupie’) of LulzSec for a little over a week and I can’t decide whether I’m amused, scared, or just plain aroused.

LulzSec – which is Latin for “porkchop sandwiches” – is a morally ambiguous hacker group which has committed several high profile attacks purely for their own amusement, or “lulz”. Their homepage features a giant ASCII picture of the “Lulz Boat” – because of course it does.

The group, which officially began operating in late May has already hit such prominent targets as Sony, Nintendo, PBS and the National Health Service, as well as pranking the Conservative Party of Canada. You DO read my e-mails!

I’m also fairly convinced they’ve gotten to my toaster. Look I know I didn’t set it to “burnt”. Why is that even an OPTION?!

LulzSec raises some interesting questions about security and privacy. The group has publicly (and hilariously) chastised Sony for failing to enact adequate security measures. Again. Of course, they did this by posting compromised user data on their website… but their heart’s in the right place.

The group’s brazen antics expose the need for private and public entities to better ensure the security of their stored data. Users are often unaware of the risks of sharing their information online, and just assume that their data is adequately protected. Since the use of many companies’ services requires everything short of a retinal scan and a stool sample, they are obligated to take appropriate precautions to protect the privacy of their customers.